"De brief voor de koning" is based on one of the most famous children's books written in the Dutch language. I remember reading it as a child - I'm a Belgian from the northern part of the country, meaning that my mother tongue is Dutch - and I remember liking it. I wasn't the only one to read and to like it : over the decades, the book has turned into an evergreen classic.
Set in a faux-medieval fantasy world, "De brief" tells the story of the adolescent squire Tiuri, who is about to spend a solemn vigil preparing himself for knighthood. All of the young squires are supposed to remain silent, in grave and lofty isolation, and yet Tiuri opens the door to the chapel upon hearing the desperate plea of a man in deep trouble. It is the beginning of a life-changing adventure during which Tiuri travels far through dangerous lands in order to deliver a crucially important letter.
"De brief" is a fairly decent adaptation, although it is sure to offer far more to children than to adults. (As a result adult viewers may well want to arm themselves with a piece of knitting or a crosswords puzzle.) It's not the most profound, most romantic or most passionate movie around, but it works well enough. Young Yannick van de Velde makes for a likeable and handsome protagonist, although one rather gets the impression that a real-life medieval knight could have killed and skinned him in four minutes flat. For some reason or other, the colour palette contains extraordinary amounts of blue or blueish tones. The viewer gets to admire blueish faces, blueish streets, blueish mountains, blueish evenings, blueish pursuits, blueish woods - someone somewhere seems to have liked the colour...
I'd be inclined to recommend the book, rather than the movie. Still, it needs to be said that the movie carries the same positive message as the book. When a desperate stranger appears at the door of the chapel, all of the young squires can hear him ; Tiuri is the only one to break the silence, make enquiries and offer help. By doing so he breaks the rules, with dire results for his family's reputation and his own career. Yet his mercy and compassion will eventually allow him to become a true knight.
It's an important lesson. Anyone can spend a vigil thinking about all the sublime ideals he would like to pursue, but to actually try and help another person, under difficult and bewildering circumstances, that's where true nobility lies...
Set in a faux-medieval fantasy world, "De brief" tells the story of the adolescent squire Tiuri, who is about to spend a solemn vigil preparing himself for knighthood. All of the young squires are supposed to remain silent, in grave and lofty isolation, and yet Tiuri opens the door to the chapel upon hearing the desperate plea of a man in deep trouble. It is the beginning of a life-changing adventure during which Tiuri travels far through dangerous lands in order to deliver a crucially important letter.
"De brief" is a fairly decent adaptation, although it is sure to offer far more to children than to adults. (As a result adult viewers may well want to arm themselves with a piece of knitting or a crosswords puzzle.) It's not the most profound, most romantic or most passionate movie around, but it works well enough. Young Yannick van de Velde makes for a likeable and handsome protagonist, although one rather gets the impression that a real-life medieval knight could have killed and skinned him in four minutes flat. For some reason or other, the colour palette contains extraordinary amounts of blue or blueish tones. The viewer gets to admire blueish faces, blueish streets, blueish mountains, blueish evenings, blueish pursuits, blueish woods - someone somewhere seems to have liked the colour...
I'd be inclined to recommend the book, rather than the movie. Still, it needs to be said that the movie carries the same positive message as the book. When a desperate stranger appears at the door of the chapel, all of the young squires can hear him ; Tiuri is the only one to break the silence, make enquiries and offer help. By doing so he breaks the rules, with dire results for his family's reputation and his own career. Yet his mercy and compassion will eventually allow him to become a true knight.
It's an important lesson. Anyone can spend a vigil thinking about all the sublime ideals he would like to pursue, but to actually try and help another person, under difficult and bewildering circumstances, that's where true nobility lies...